Igesund promises hard work for the 23-man Bafana squad in 2013 Afcon preparation

By Andre Bell

Bafana Bafana’s 2013 Africa Cup of Nations squad can expect an intensive routine over the next days as Gordon Igesund sets about building his side for the upcoming tournament

The 23-man South African squad, selected on Sunday for the three week event, assembles in Cape Town on Wednesday for a week-long stint in the Mother City.

The team will be training twice a day in the beginning, for Igesund to communicate and adapt his attacking philosophy over to the players.

“It is going to be hard work because it is important to mould this team into a unit,” he told Goal.com.

“I have to achieve in 18 days what would ordinarily take four to five months to achieve. But I believe in my ability to get the job done. A lot of what we have to learn has to do with repetition, so it will be the same drill over and over again,” he said.

Igesund plans intensive sessions at the Athlone Stadium but says there must also be time for recuperation.

The team will stay in Cape Town until after their friendly with Norway at the Cape Town Stadium on January 8.

Thereafter the squad will head back up to high altitude in Johannesburg and have a final warm-up match against Algeria at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto on January 12.